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KINGSPARK NEWS Club Number: 30119 2005-06 Rotary Year : Issue 15 : 4 February | ||
| This
is the biweekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong | ||
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| Chief
Editor : Francis Wann Club Webmaster : John Wan | ||
| Editorial
(The
Teachings of Sir John Cowperthwaite) - By Francis Wann | ||
| District Website | RI Website | RI President | TRF | News Room | Global History Fellowship | ||
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The
Teachings of
Chances are they either don't believe what they do, or they don't do what they preach. No wonder central to the Chief Executive's philosophy of governance is one of strong leadership, or strong-armed leadership to be exact. I was pondering over a few obituaries our former Financial Secretary Sir John Cowperthwaite who passed away about a week ago in his Scotland home. He served during Sir David Trench's term and witnessed the riots and the aftermath of cultural revolution which had shaken Hong Kong at its roots. Sir John's philosophy of positive non-intervention not only gave people the breathing space they badly needed, but became the necessary cornerstone for his successor Sir Murray MacLehose who actually implemented the policy of nine-year compulsory education. But it was also since then we've been bombarded with terminology such as medium of instruction, places of allocation, discretionary places, central allocation, the Green Paper Review, then the White Paper, etc. If today's teachers are in any doubt about the culprit of the much-criticised education reform, it was MacLehose who initiated the changes as he saw education as a means to social justice and equality. But the nature of our education today has clearly been abused when everyone is obsessed with accountability and justification to the point where creativity has become a luxury. When Sir John was asked to justify his initiatives with statistics, he famously said "Oh, we can't do that. If we did, people would only try to use those statistics and where would we be then?" (SCMP version, Jake van der Kamp, Jan 31) It's clear they never know when enough is enough. Had Sir John been here today, he would probably have scoffed at those mountains of "reform" documents and smiled at the ignorance and gullibility of the teaching profession. And they must have forgotten the essense of education - that basically teachers teach and students learn, however you might interpret it. But unfortunately some people are demanding more from the teachers and less from students. Ask any teachers and they'd testify how standards have plummeted over the years, especially and not only in languages. The reform shouldn't have started. It's half-baked O-level sociology and it benefits nobody. It breeds distrust and has already tarnished the reputation of the profession. Sir John's lagacy must be a lesson for everyone, particularly those who are in a position to make educational decisions. Believe me. I'm a teacher. | ||
President's
Column
Our District Governor Peter Wan has set a goal for every club that we have to increase the no. of our members by a net growth of one by 30-4-2006. The no. of members of our club has dropped by 1 from 29 at the beginning of the Rotary year to 28 currently. It is very likely that we will induct one new member shortly, but we are still short of one in order to achieve the Presidential Citation. We have only 3 months to go and I really need all members to help to work hard for this objective immediately. Please start inviting your friends to our meeting. For your information we have invited PP Stephen Chai to talk about his trip to the Antartic Circle in our luncheon meeting on 9 February, 2006 and PP Daniel Lam from KCRC to talk about the hot issue of railway maintenance on 2 March, 2006. I attended a Happy Hour organized by the Rotary Club of Kwun Tong on 19 January, 2006. They organized this gathering to replace their regular Thursday meeting in order to attract new members and enhance the fellowship among the existing members. They invited a lot of Rotarians from other clubs to join and it was a very successful gathering. It is a good reference of how we can modify some of our meetings in future. We started the "More Sharing, More Involving" to let members to share their experience in our luncheon meetings sometime last year. In our last luncheon meeting on 26 January, 2006 PP Raymond Sin talked about the new technology of dentistry. Certainly we have learnt the professional presentation from our PP Dentist Raymond about the implantation of false tooth. It is better than fitting a bridge which requires the cutting and shaping the adjacent teeth on both sides of the false tooth. He also shared with us a letter from a mother who wrote to her daughter who committed suicide and died 9 years ago. She regretted for what she did to her daughter, which might have caused her suicide and if she were given the chance she will do differently and will not put too much pressure on her. PP Raymond shared his experience to build up the harmony in the family that he will not ask his children whether they have finished their homework everyday when he goes home, but he will ask "Are you happy today?" and they will tell you what they have done. As a father of my son I find this very useful and it will not create any pressure on the child. The sharing has received a lot of echoes from our members. | ||
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IPP's
Column Rotary Awareness Month
Under the leadership of President Dominic, we have done and are doing a great deal to contribute to our annual emphases such as the joint project with Rotary Club of Zuumond about installation of water pump and construction of a public bathroom, participation in the Vocational Training Workshops organized by Youth Development Council and organization of Vocational Services Seminar. Thanks to our Vocational Service Director Marvin and his committee members who have spent tremendous effort in organizing the Vocational Services Seminar, we have carried out another successful vocational event jointly with Ching Chung Hau Po Woon Secondary School in Tuen Mun on 13/1/06. With Mr. Herbert Hui, J.P., Chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors Limited as our keynote speaker, 22 speakers from 15 professions were invited to share their experience with over 450 students. As Rotarians are always involved in our activities, 3 of us including PP Mahmood Rumjahn of Rotary Club of Admiralty, PP Peter Lo & Rtn. Michael Au of our Club played the role of speakers. Besides, our family member IDRR Eddie Yau of Rotaract Club of Kingspark has also joined us to speak for the profession "Hotel Management". Apart from acting as speaker, a lot of our members including PP Edward, PP Ted, PP Raymond, PE Patrick, Feroz, Kennedy, Spark and me have also participated and shown our support to this meaningful event. After the seminar, we had our evaluation meeting and fellowship seafood dinner in Tuen Mun. Dear Kingsparicans, I always believe that we can accomplish our objectives if we share common goals. Likewise, I also believe that we can achieve synergy if we work as a team! I am always proud to be a member of our Club because we have not only completed a lot of meaningful projects, but also proved that we are a great team! | ||
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The World Day of the Sick
His Holiness Benedict XVI has written a message for the occasion to underline the special solicitude the Church has for the suffering and to call attention to the problems connected with mental disturbance which afflicts one-fifth of humankind and constitutes a real and authentic social health care emergency. The Pope noted that in many countries, legislation in the field does not exist and in other countries a precise policy on mental health is absent. Prolonged armed conflicts in various parts of the world, natural catastrophes, and terrorism, have also created mental traumas in the survivors, in addition to having caused many deaths, Full recovery is often very difficult. In countries with high economic development, experts recognize that new forms of mental disturbance are often accompanied by the negative impact of the crisis of moral values. People are feeling more lonely, traditional social cohesion is breaking down, families are breaking up, and the sick are being marginalized, particularly the mentally ill, who are seen as burden for the families and the community. The Pope went on to praise those who have been working in the related fields and encourage them to continue with their efforts to ensure that all the mentally ill people are given access to the neceaary care and treatment. Indeed, the care and attention a community devotes to the sick, in particular the mentally ill, is a reflection of its sophistication and moral values. The same is also true and more evident at the family level. Rotary and Rotarians worldwide take pride in taking service to people in areas that need our service most. Maybe we can all pause and reflect next Saturday on what we have been doing or not doing for the least fortunate and most vulnerable among us. | ||
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Views in any article in Kingspark News reflect those of the authors. They are not necessarily the views of the Rotary Club of Kingspark or of District 3450. You are welcome to write to Chief Editor Francis Wann or Club Webmaster John Wan on any topic, particularly in response to articles published in Kingspark News. We would publish all contributions as long as the authors identify themselves, the contents are not offensive or abusive, and would not offend common decency or common sense. You need not be a Rotarian to write to us and you have a choice to withhold your name in the published version. Where the contents make reference to statements or policies of individuals or organizations, we would try to obtain a response from the latter for publication in the same issue if possible. | ||
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Chief
Editor : Francis Wann The Board of Directors President
: Dominic Ko | ||
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